Steven Rea’s “‘Gravity’: Completely Out of This World” Is Surprisingly Grounded

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With a title as hacky and hyperbolic as “‘Gravity’: Completely out of this world,” one might not expect the review that follows to be particularly level-headed or well-reasoned. While it’s true that Steven Rea’s love letter to Gravity is fairly gushing, it is also surprisingly well-written and grounded in reality

Rea touches on plot while avoiding anything that might be considered a spoiler, which is a welcome lifeboat in a sea of spoiler-ridden Gravity reviews. He uses the plot as a jumping off point to some distinct stylistic flourishes: a light-hearted reference to pinball games, a callback to previous space films (yes, the requisite 2001: A Space Odyssey mention is there, but also a smarter mention of Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon), an analogy to pop music.

With out of this world, the proceedings never become too serious—Rea uses a light touch throughout—but they also manage to never become irritatingly goofy. It’s a fine line to follow, but he does so nicely. The review never wears out its welcome either, clocking in at a modest but not overly short 670 words. For fans of space, space movies, and reviews of space movies, out of this world offers the prospect of pure worldly delight.